Former Tinley Park Fire Chief honored

Former Tinley Park Fire Chief Robert T. Bettenhausen was honored by the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association this month for his service to the community. (Handout, Tinley Park)

The Illinois Fire Chiefs Association emeritus committee honored longtime former Tinley Park Fire Chief Robert T. Bettenhausen for his contributions to the community by naming him "fire chief emeritus" during a recent ceremony.

The award, presented to Bettenhausen on Oct. 15 as part of the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association Conference in Peoria, is a title given to honor retired fire chiefs who gave "meritorious service to their community and the fire service profession," according to the organization's website.

Bettenhausen, 82, is a lifelong resident of Tinley Park who served in the fire department for more than half a century, village officials said.

He said he joined the department in 1952, at a time when the village of Tinley Park was much smaller than it is today and the fire department was staffed by volunteers.

"You didn't get paid anything," Bettenhausen recalled. "You paid for most of your equipment that you needed, ran fund-drives and things like that."

In 1961, Bettenhausen became the assistant fire chief, village officials said, until he was promoted to fire chief in 1966.

He served in that position for nearly three decades, until 1993, when he was appointed chief fire marshal for the village.

"Chief Bettenhausen provided a basis for what the Tinley Park Fire Department is today," said current Tinley Park Fire Chief Ken Dunn in a statement. "His leadership inspired the organization to be the best. Our commitment, training and equipment are the reasons we have attained a very high level of success."

Dunn went on to thank Bettenhausen "for his many years of commitment to the department."

Under Bettenhausen's leadership, a full-time fire prevention bureau was established in Tinley Park, the fire department training center was built, and new fire prevention and fire safety regulations were implemented, amongst other achievements cited by a resolution in his honor passed by the statehouse in 2010.

Bettenhausen has also received lifetime achievement awards from the Illinois Fire Chiefs Association and the National Volunteer Fire Council and was named 1997 Fire Chief of the Year by Fire Chiefs Magazine, according to the same resolution.

At 82, Bettenhausen isn't "a kid anymore," as he put it in an interview.

But the retired chief remains involved with firefighting organizations.

He is currently planning to attend a conference run by the International Association of Fire Chiefs in Clearwater, Fl., next month, Bettenhausen said.

"It's been a pleasure to be involved in the fire service," Bettenhausen said, while noting that he didn't build the department alone.

"I had a lot of really, really good people help me," Bettenhausen said. "The numbers are in the hundreds and that's what helped make me successful."